Columbia tries to avoid Harvard’s trap in the antitrust court

Columbia University is in the hot seat as House Republicans prepare to question four of its top officials on Wednesday for a statement about protests on campus.

Columbia President Nemat Shafik, along with two members of the Board of Trustees and a professor, will be questioned by the Academic and Staff Committee after missing a December hearing that became a bar. other university heads.

“Some of the worst cases of antisemitic attacks, harassment, and vandalism on campus have occurred at Columbia University,” said President Virginia Foxx (RN.C.) in a statement.

“Given the seriousness and prevalence of these cases, and the failure of the Columbia administration to enforce its own policies to protect Jewish students, the Committee must listen to Columbia’s leadership personally to learn how the school handles campus protests,” he said. add.

Shafik was invited to the December trial which also targeted antisemitism at Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) but was unable to attend. done because of previous travel plans.

Columbia’s leadership got lucky as they watched from the sidelines as three other universities were questioned — and the collapse that followed.

All three presidents in the December hearing objected to the two groups when asked by Rep. Elise Stefanik (RN.Y.) whether calling for the genocide of Jews would be considered a disturbance on campus.

All three responded and said that it would depend on the level of speech and that more research would be needed. While First Amendment experts say the answer is legally correct, it hasn’t gone over well in public.

UPenn President Liz Magill resigned a few days after the trial, and Harvard President Claudine Gay resigned the following month after protesting the trial and allegations of fraud.

The President of MIT, Sally Kornbluth, alone was able to withstand the storm as her school released a statement of support for her and then she stayed out of the public eye.

Protests at the compound became a hot topic after October 7, when Hamas launched its attack and killed more than 1,000 Israeli civilians.

In the weeks that followed, some campus groups blamed Israel for the attack or claimed it was right, vandalism broke out on college campuses and the public felt outraged by the response, or the absence of those things, from the authorities.

The Anti-Defamation League recorded 8,800 antisemitic acts in the US in 2023, with an increase after the attack of October 7. It is a record year and a 140 percent jump from 2022.

Sixty-four percent of Jewish parents of college applicants said their child removed at least one school from their application because of concerns about opposition, according to a survey from Hillel International was released earlier this month.

So far, Columbia has tried to project a public image of confidence leading up to the trial.

“Columbia is committed to combating terrorism and we welcome the opportunity to discuss our work to protect and support Jewish students and keep our community safe,” the university said in a statement.

But those who were in the campus hope that this announcement could mark an important change for the school.

“I hope that this trial will provide an opportunity to reveal the existence of problems in this university. In the last six months, it often felt like Jewish students were shouting into a void, so I hope this trial will force the university to take notice of what is happening and respond to it. and good,” Jacob Schmeltz, a senior at Columbia and vice president of the Jewish on Campus Student Union, told The Hill.

“Jewish students are marginalized and isolated and face hostility in almost every way. We are excluded from student groups on campus. There are many examples on campus where this has happened. protest statements and calls for violence,” he added.

Columbia’s responses to the lawsuit will determine how the House’s investigation will be conducted later.

Meanwhile, House Republicans and Harvard are in a battle over documents related to antisemitism on the Ivy League campus. Harvard has released thousands of documents, but lawmakers say the information is inappropriate and the school has been subpoenaed.